Woman jailed for filing false rape case

A woman has been convicted for filing a false rape case against two persons 15 years ago. The Supreme Court found Mahila Vinod Kumar guilty of perjury (misleading the court with false evidence) and refused to accept her defence that she was illiterate.

Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice P Sathasivam ruled: “Courts should strive harder to tackle the evil of perjury. It has assumed alarming proportions in cases depending on oral evidence and in order to deal with the menace effectively, it is desirable for the courts to use the provision more effectively and frequently.”

Upholding the judgement of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that convicted the woman for three months, the Bench empathised with the two men, saying they had to “face the ignominy of a trial for a serious offence like rape”. “Their acquittal may, to a certain extent, have washed away the stigma, but that is not enough,” the judges added.

Mahila had in January 1993 lodged a rape case, claiming the two men sexually assaulted her. On the basis of her complaint, the accused were arrested and faced the trial.

The complainant, however, retracted during her cross-examination and denied making the charges against the two. She also denied having registered the FIR against them.

The trial court acquitted the men but initiated perjury proceedings and convicted her to three months imprisonment.